Tarte tatin is the upside-down caramelised-apple tart Paris bistros plate by the slice with crème fraîche. The apples are cooked in butter and sugar before the pastry goes on top.
The dish was reportedly invented by the Tatin sisters at their hotel-restaurant in Lamotte-Beuvron in 1898, when Stéphanie Tatin tipped a forgotten apple pan upside-down and discovered the caramelised result was better than the planned tart. The Parisian uptake came through Curnonsky, the food critic who featured the dish at his Larue restaurant near the Madeleine in 1926. By the 1950s, every Paris bistro had the tarte tatin on the dessert list. Le Bon Georges in the 9e is the editorial benchmark today: a 12-hour rest on the apples, served warm with crème fraîche in winter, with vanilla ice cream in summer.
4 editor picks for Tarte tatin in Paris, ranked by editorial score. All Paris signature dishes · Tarte tatin across every city.
Le Bon Georges ★ 4.4
9e · 45 Rue Saint-Georges, 75009 Paris
Le Bon Georges in Paris's 9e cooks farmer-named meat and a tarte tatin worth ordering before the main: the kitchen prep includes a 12-hour rest on the apples.
Bistrot Paul Bert ★ 4.4
11e · 18 Rue Paul Bert, 75011 Paris
Bistrot Paul Bert is Paris's textbook bistro: zinc bar, chalkboard menu, steak frites cooked rare with hand-cut fries, île flottante for two on a single platter.
Chez Georges ★ 4.3
2e · 1 Rue du Mail, 75002 Paris
Chez Georges has run the same Paris bistro menu since 1964: sole meunière, oeufs en gelée, profiteroles. The handwritten carte still uses the original prices format.
Polidor ★ 3.9
6e · 41 Rue Monsieur-le-Prince, 75006 Paris
Polidor in Paris has run a Latin-Quarter bistro at the same address since 1845. The carte still holds bœuf bourguignon, blanquette de veau, tarte tatin.